Paul Jeffrey
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Slightly Mad Studios reveal more details regarding the new for Project CARS 2 Online Championship game mode feature.
Slightly Mad Studios recently revealed the first official footage from the new for 2017 Project CARS 2 game, the second instalment of the mightily successful Project CARS franchise that first hit both console and PC gamers back in late 2015. With the original title achieving considerable commercial success and the studio having hopefully taken heed of past mistakes, it looks like SMS have attempted to pull out all the stops with this follow up sim in an attempt to re-establish itself as a serious competitor to the current breed of sim racing giants.
With an enviable catalogue of cars and tracks due to be included in the base install of the new release (over 170 cars from top manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes and Lamborghini) plus over 60 circuits (a record for console games) added to the already exceptionally crisp graphical experience, it looks like SMS might well have the ingredients in place to make a serious mark on the future sim racing landscape.
As is the way with many big budget gaming studios, Slightly Mad Studios have been hard at work in the marketing department pushing out regular news and sneak peeks of the game as a public release draws ever closer. Although no official release date has been revealed, SMS Studio Head Ian Bell has gone on record several times to state that they are targeting a September release. Unlike with the original game however this time Bell is expecting PCARS 2 to undertake a rigorous Q&A process to ensure no severe bugs are included in the launch version of the game, so the September target is by no means guaranteed and SMS are more than willing to delay release to ensure a fully finished product hits our shelves first time around.
As part of the ever slick promotional programme attached to Project CARS, today the studio have revealed yet another piece of the puzzle surrounding the new game. Online Championships have been eluded to already by various media outlets and random insider Tweets, however Slightly Mad Studios have now gone on record to educate fans of the series a little further about what to expect when the game finally hits the shelves.
Touted as one of the most requested features by the community during the development phase of PCARS 2, the new feature has been designed to allow players to create a league-format championship consisting of sequential rounds. Basically the idea is to build in a custom championship tool within the game options, and then run that championship in an online environment against your friends or in open or sign up servers. The feature will allow the championship owner to set a wide range of setting within the season, such as session format and duration, weather and track conditions and of course the track calendar itself. It is then proposed that the league owner can invite competing drivers and teams with cars assigned as required.
In something of a positive move by the studio, Project CARS 2 will have built in functionality to record and monitor statistics, results and performance for all competitors within the championship. After each session the game will automatically send the results and standings to each individual within the series, plus giving users the opportunity to export the file to external programs outside of the game software (PC only). This new feature will come with a range of in season adjustments that can be made by the series admin, so things like the schedule and locations can be altered once the series is underway, and penalties can be applied to individual drivers or cars as is required by the championship administrators.
"With the power for anyone to create and join an Online Championship, this exciting new game mode along with other complimentary features will form the backbone of all Esports events for Project CARS 2" said the official SMS announcement.
This is a rather impressive initiative by Slightly Mad Studios and is something that has been a long time coming in modern racing simulations. Anyone who has had responsibility for either large or small private leagues can attest to the often unnecessary frustrations that can come of working with some of the current titles on the market at present.
If you consider the above mentioned league features in conjunction with the already briefly mentioned new broadcasting software contained within the game, where PCARS 2 supports a race director on camera duty and a dedicated commentator slot all within the game software, we could well see some significant improvements to league administration and presentation across the board with this new title.
So far so good from Slightly Mad Studios. Keep your eye out on RaceDepartment as we bring you all the latest news and happenings as and when they become available.
Project CARS 2 is due for release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC towards the end of 2017.
If you want to learn more about the latest entry into the Project CARS franchise, or simply hang out and chat with your fellow sim racing fans then head over to the Project CARS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment and get involved in the action today.
Do you like the look of Online Championships in Project CARS 2? Do you think the second game will mark a significant improvement over the original Project CARS? Will you be making a purchase on release day? Let us know in the comments section below!
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